Microsoft teases 8K 'Project Scarlett' Xbox, due holiday 2020

8K gaming, but will it play 4K Blu-rays?

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Microsoft has teased its next-gen games console at the E3 Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles. Dubbed 'Project Scarlett', the new Xbox console is set to launch in Q4 2019 with 8K gaming, refresh rates of up to 120 frames per second, and support for VRR (variable refresh rates).

The next-gen Xbox will feature a custom processor designed in partnership with AMD - Microsoft claims it will be four times more powerful than the processor used in the current Xbox One X. The Project Scarlett Xbox includes GDDR6 RAM and a new generation of SSDs (Solid State Drives) which will also be used as virtual RAM. Xbox is promising more than 40 times the performance of current generation SSDs.

The big question is will Project Scarlett also have a 4K Blu-ray drive? At this stage we don't honestly know. Microsoft was pushing its upcoming Project xCloud game streaming service at E3, so perhaps we'll see two versions, one with a disc drive and one without, for those who just want a pure streaming games console without any disc drive in tow. You'd assume that video (and music) streaming services such as Netflix and Spotify would come as part of either package, though.

What we do know is that the latest instalment in the Halo franchise, Halo Infinite, will launch alongside the new console, presumably to showcase all that newfound power.

If you're interested in buying the next-gen Xbox, you've got quite a wait, with Project Scarlett only due on sale at the back end of 2020. As always though, we'll be sure to bring you more information on Microsoft's next-gen games console as and when we get it.